Global Events & Politics Überthread
- Thread starter Hawk
- Start date
nsacpi
Expects Yuge Games
The U.S. plan envisions European countries sending weaponry, including the Patriot systems, to Ukraine out of their current stocks so the weapons could be used immediately, Trump said. Those countries would then purchase replacements from the U.S. military industry.
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, visiting the White House on Monday, told reporters that the deal also involved “missiles and ammunition,” without specifying what else would be purchased and supplied. Ukraine’s U.S. and European backers have rushed to bolster their production capacity of air defense interceptors and 155mm artillery shells.
“There’s a very big deal we’ve made. This is billions of dollars worth of military equipment [which] is going to be purchased from the United States, going to NATO, etcetera, and that’s going to be quickly distributed to the battlefield,” Trump said Monday in the Oval Office, speaking alongside Rutte, who will help oversee a NATO-wide purchasing effort of U.S.-made weaponry for Ukraine.
In his remarks, Trump offered far more sympathy toward Ukrainians than he has at other moments of his presidency.
“Say what you want about Ukraine. When the war started, they had no chance,” Trump said. “They fought with tremendous courage, and they continue to fight with tremendous courage.”
And he had harsh words for Putin, saying at one point, “I don’t want to say he’s an assassin, but he’s a tough guy.”
The decision came just weeks after the Pentagon briefly paused military aid for Ukraine, continuing an approach to the conflict that has blown hot and cold toward Kyiv since Trump came into office in January vowing to end the war in a day.
The fresh approach was met with relief in Kyiv, which has been buffeted by the back and forth from Washington in recent weeks as Russia has increased deadly aerial attacks.
Trump’s Ukraine envoy, retired Lt. Gen. Keith Kellogg, visited Ukraine on Monday for meetings with top leaders there, giving a bear hug to Zelensky’s chief of staff upon arriving in the capital’s central train station.
Makes me cautiously optimistic!
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, visiting the White House on Monday, told reporters that the deal also involved “missiles and ammunition,” without specifying what else would be purchased and supplied. Ukraine’s U.S. and European backers have rushed to bolster their production capacity of air defense interceptors and 155mm artillery shells.
“There’s a very big deal we’ve made. This is billions of dollars worth of military equipment [which] is going to be purchased from the United States, going to NATO, etcetera, and that’s going to be quickly distributed to the battlefield,” Trump said Monday in the Oval Office, speaking alongside Rutte, who will help oversee a NATO-wide purchasing effort of U.S.-made weaponry for Ukraine.
In his remarks, Trump offered far more sympathy toward Ukrainians than he has at other moments of his presidency.
“Say what you want about Ukraine. When the war started, they had no chance,” Trump said. “They fought with tremendous courage, and they continue to fight with tremendous courage.”
And he had harsh words for Putin, saying at one point, “I don’t want to say he’s an assassin, but he’s a tough guy.”
The decision came just weeks after the Pentagon briefly paused military aid for Ukraine, continuing an approach to the conflict that has blown hot and cold toward Kyiv since Trump came into office in January vowing to end the war in a day.
The fresh approach was met with relief in Kyiv, which has been buffeted by the back and forth from Washington in recent weeks as Russia has increased deadly aerial attacks.
Trump’s Ukraine envoy, retired Lt. Gen. Keith Kellogg, visited Ukraine on Monday for meetings with top leaders there, giving a bear hug to Zelensky’s chief of staff upon arriving in the capital’s central train station.
Makes me cautiously optimistic!